The Mourning Doves statue and a historical marker were dedicated Sunday, May 15, 2005, on the Third Street side of First United Methodist Church. Go have a look!Audubon's
Mourning Doves
By DOUG McCLURE
It was an excited group that met in the parking lot of the First United Methodist Church at 7:30 that Friday morning on April 29, 2005. The threatened rain (which soon became a reality) did nothing to diminish their anticipation caused by their mission; they were going to Louisville to witness the pouring of a sculpture to be placed on the Third Street entryway of the First United Methodist Church and dedicated on Pentecost Sunday, May 15, 2005.
The sculpture being created was the next in succession to the series of bird sculptures, based on John James Audubon paintings, that had been commissioned by the City of Henderson and placed at various locations around the city a few years ago.
This particular sculpture was of special interest to the one in the group who had commissioned it -- Joan Hoffman. This was to honor the memory of her late husband, John Stanley Hoffman and was selected, in part, because of the view he expressed at the start of each dove hunting season. He said to Joan, "I don't know how anyone could shoot a dove. Don't they know that they mate for life, and when you kill a dove you are breaking up a family?" The sculpture is based on J. J. Audubon's painting of Mourning Doves. This painting was also selected because of Joan and John's long-time membership in the First United Methodist Church. It evokes the scene when John the Baptist baptized his cousin Jesus and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove.The group -- Joan, Jo Logan, Steve Martin and Doug McClure -- had been waiting for several months for the message from the sculptor, Raymond Graf, that the pouring of the mold was about to occur. Steve was the only one of the four who had seen the creation of a sculpture before, but it was by a different method, sand casting, several years earlier in Mexico.
Everyone in the group wondered whether Graf's rendering of Mourning Doves would turn out as well as the eight Graf had previously sculpted for the City of Henderson.
The anxiety was heightened when they arrived at the artist's home and no one answered the repeated door bell ringing, door knocking and wall pounding. The 11:00 a.m. pouring time was at hand....and rapidly passing! After several cell phone calls, the misunderstanding was cleared up and they were directed to the nearby Bright's Foundry. Their anxiety was relieved when they arrived to discover that there was time to not only witness the pour, but also to receive a description of the process the artist followed in creating the work of art.
Graf explained that it began with the creation of a clay model of the subject. After several other steps, the molds that would receive the molten bronze were created. The sculpture would be produced in several parts, then reunited after they were removed from the molds. The molds were created using the same ceramic that is used to create the tiles protecting the nose cone of the space shuttle during re-entry.
The foundry owner explained that the bronze was being heated to 2,000 degrees in a pot, while the ceramic molds were being heated to 1,000 degrees. The molds were heated so that the molten bronze would not cool too rapidly when it was being poured into them.
He said that the ceramic molds had to be carefully crafted. In addition to the openings into which the molten bronze was poured, there were openings to allow the air to escape in order for the metal to completely fill the mold. Channels for these air vents run upward from the lower parts of the mold so that there are no air bubbles trapped in the sculpture.
Finally the long-awaited moment arrived -- the molds and the bronze had reached the proper temperatures and the pour was imminent. Insulation was removed from around the molds and the pot of cherry-red liquid bronze was lifted from its furnace by a hoist suspended from an over-head steel H-beam, secured by a metal harness with two long handles to maneuver the pot during the pour into each of the molds.
The three men conducting the operation were insulated from the intense heat by protective gear covering them from head to toe. The operation was carefully orchestrated as the bronze streamed in a bright liquid. Some excess would flow over the top of some of the molds like water.
The group intensely watched and photographed this delicate process. Graf pronounced the pour successfully completed and the wait for the cooling began, which was assisted by a large high-volume fan blowing over the molds.
After awhile it was announced that they had cooled sufficiently to begin removing the ceramic mold. The puzzled onlookers were told that this stage was recognizable when a series of snapping noises announced that the cooling and contracting metal (with its various contorted shapes) began exerting pressure on the ceramic, causing cracks and the accompanying snapping noise.
The molds were moved to a concrete floor area where Graf began tapping the ceramic molds with a hammer to hasten the cracking process, and the sculpture shapes began to emerge. The visitors gathered souvenir pieces of the ceramic that reflected shapes of the sculpture -- a leaf, part of a wing.
After the ceramic is completely removed, the sculpture parts will be welded together and sandblasted, followed by application of the patina. This will take several days.
After a discussion of the finishing details and the installation of the sculpture at the church, the group traveled to a local eatery, the Blue Dog, and devoured lunch with gusto.Although this meal served to bring the group down slightly from the high excitement, it was deemed that a visit to a local bakery which produces a fabulous array of pastries and other desserts was necessary to prepare the group for the two-hour ride back to Henderson.
Postscript: First United Methodist Church dedicated the sculpture and historical marker on the sidewalk by the Friendly Entrance on Third Street on Sunday, May 15, 2005. "Mourning Doves" is as beautiful as everyone hoped. It's a splendid addition to the other Audubon bird sculptures already on permanent display throughout downtown Henderson; a wonderful memorial to John Stanley Hoffman Jr.; a beautiful part of First Church; and a reminder of the Spirit that descended from heaven onto our Lord, Jesus Christ.
First United Methodist Church, 338 Third St., Henderson, Ky. 42420 -- (270) 827-9831
